So when I first got this baby, I was sure he (she?) was a black Swedish. I already have one slightly older Black Swedish gal and love her so much, I wanted another of her kind. Now he/she is roughly 3.5-4 weeks old and I'm second guessing. I consider myself fairly skilled at recognizing breeds, but this one has me a little stumped and I could use some opinions.
He (we'll just say he for now) stands much more upright than my other swede, which indicates to me runner..
The fowl in question (excuse the messy brooder, it's hosed out daily I swear lol):
My older Swedish gal for body comparison. Sorry she wouldn't hold still for a photo. Again, pardon the mess. I wanted to spoil them by brooding them in the spare tub, and although I thoroughly scrub it daily, it looks like this within an hour or two again.
:
As you can probably see in that second photo, he is quite a bit larger than his 2 silver apple yard and KC brooder-mates. I would've thought a runner would grow smaller than an appleyard, at least. A Swede would grow bigger, which makes me think swede again.
Then, as you can see his bill in the first photo is distinctly shaped (sometimes he even reminds me of a Hookbill), which makes me think Runner again.
Lastly, his color.. As a baby, he had the ring around his neck and a fainter bib. Now, his ring is very prominent but the bib is fading away. I'm not familiar with a runner colored similar? Could just be highly mismarked Swede..? No matter what he is (breed, drake or hen), he will be called Daffy, as he is the spitting image of the "real" Daffy.
So, would you say he's a Black Swedish, some kind of Runner, cross of the two, or something else entirely??
While we're at it, his appleyard brooder-mates are SUPPOSED to be pure silver appleyard, as per the breeder. I've never raised appleyards before, so.. is it normal for them to stand up this straight, too?
I would have thought they'd stay hunched over like my swede gal and Mallards did, but they both seem to stand up higher. Maybe they're just being influenced by "Daffy"..
.
Kudos if you read all that! XD
He (we'll just say he for now) stands much more upright than my other swede, which indicates to me runner..
The fowl in question (excuse the messy brooder, it's hosed out daily I swear lol):
My older Swedish gal for body comparison. Sorry she wouldn't hold still for a photo. Again, pardon the mess. I wanted to spoil them by brooding them in the spare tub, and although I thoroughly scrub it daily, it looks like this within an hour or two again.
:As you can probably see in that second photo, he is quite a bit larger than his 2 silver apple yard and KC brooder-mates. I would've thought a runner would grow smaller than an appleyard, at least. A Swede would grow bigger, which makes me think swede again.
Then, as you can see his bill in the first photo is distinctly shaped (sometimes he even reminds me of a Hookbill), which makes me think Runner again.
Lastly, his color.. As a baby, he had the ring around his neck and a fainter bib. Now, his ring is very prominent but the bib is fading away. I'm not familiar with a runner colored similar? Could just be highly mismarked Swede..? No matter what he is (breed, drake or hen), he will be called Daffy, as he is the spitting image of the "real" Daffy.
So, would you say he's a Black Swedish, some kind of Runner, cross of the two, or something else entirely??
While we're at it, his appleyard brooder-mates are SUPPOSED to be pure silver appleyard, as per the breeder. I've never raised appleyards before, so.. is it normal for them to stand up this straight, too?
I would have thought they'd stay hunched over like my swede gal and Mallards did, but they both seem to stand up higher. Maybe they're just being influenced by "Daffy"..
.Kudos if you read all that! XD
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